Heart of Brass
by The Pencil Of The Gods
Summary: One person's game is the others reality. When these facts are inexplicably intertwined, a story is born. Well, I say it like that because it sounds way cooler than: I woke up in a Fire Emblem game one day and I have absolutely no idea what to do. Oh biscuits.
1. First Day: The Fall of Renais

**_AN:_**_ So this is my first Fire Emblem Story. I got the idea initially while playing FE: Sacred Stones (I'm sorry, but for some reason it remains my favorite, though this might change once I play FE: Awakening) and while browsing through T.V tropes and , I discovered that there was a startlingly scarce number of Sacred Stones fanfics, so, once again I am forced to resort to the time honored tradition of 'do it yourself'_

_To end this AN, I give a warning that when it comes to Fire Emblem, I must sadly class myself as a noob. Or – gasp – a filthy casual; whatever you want to call it. In any case, I might get something's wrong in the story in regards to class, item advantages and whatever, so you'll have to forgive me for that._

_So, without further ado I present my Fire Emblem story:_

_Heart of Brass._

* * *

><p>Urgh . . . what time is it?<p>

It's either late night or early morning, because the air's chilly. I fumble around for my phone-slash-alarm before realizing it wasn't where I placed it. Other realizations came after that: For example, I was not lying in my bed – too hard, not enough pillows, my favorite teddy bear was missing (I've had it since I was _three_) and it smelled like dirt.

I shot up, wide awake and no longer groggy and what do you know? I was lying on dirt; _big surprise_.

"What the fuck?"

Where the hell was I? As far as I could see it was grass, trees and dirt. In all honesty I was a getting a bit nervous. This was either a really realistic dream or a very, _very _bad prank.

"Helloooo?" I shouted out, both to see if there was actually anyone there and to relieve my nerves. I got up and looked around the place. Still grass, still trees, no people; I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I hurt, so there went that idea.

I walk around for a bit, looking for any signs of life. "Christ Almighty where am I?" I muttered to myself.

There's a faint sound of a horses' hooves in the distance (I've been riding horses every summer since I was six, so the sound is pretty distinct to me) and turn towards the source: Two people riding on one horse, and moving at a pace I wouldn't risk even on my best days. I waited in place, planning to call out to them as they got closer.

Pro-tip if you're aiming to get the attention of someone on horseback: Do _not_ suddenly go in front of them while madly waving your arms, you could get yourself or the rider killed by surprising the horse.

As they got closer, three things caught my attention. Firstly, they were wearing armor. That wasn't as weird as it looked at first glance, though – I've seen plenty of people LARP like that in summer, but it was the faint shine of steel and the design that got me. Secondly, the riders were a boy and a girl, with red and bluish (or teal, I wasn't good with colors) hair. Thirdly and most importantly, I recognized them.

Oh, they looked slightly different from how I imagined them of course, but what else would you expect when video game characters transition to real life?

Then I began putting the pieces together; it wasn't hard, after all, haven't I seen this exact same scenario thousands of times before in fanfiction and manga? Okay, perhaps that was a bad example to use, seeing as, you know, they're _fiction_, but I was fairly confident that I was right.

The rider's eyes widened for a teensy bit before narrowing. He turned the reins of his horse and promptly avoided me, galloping straight ahead. If this seemed rude to you, I can tell you know that I didn't mind. Why? Because if what I suspected was going on was really happening, then – ah, there they were, right on time.

Grado's soldiers; clad in red armor and chasing after the princess of a fallen country and her most loyal knight.

It was all too easy for me to know what was going on. I recognized what was going on, and I felt my knee's shake slightly in revelation: This was the prologue stage of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones_._

I wasn't sure whether I was happy or freaked out by this revelation – all I knew was that I was stunned to the point of not moving, which proved to be a pretty bad thing when the sword came down, and any further thoughts were chucked out the window.

"Shit!" I cursed mentally as I rolled to the side. Thankfully, it looked like the man was only half-interested in me, as he and his merry band of murderers charge forward after Eirika and Seth.

Thinking about their names finalized the reality of what I was in. I didn't want to accept it so easily; it made me feel so detached to my world – I was even using _my world_ now – In fact, I had a million questions running through my head, first of all being how I got here.

I couldn't even deny this as a dream either. I've got terrible sleeping habits, which translates to I'm _never_ fully asleep, so dreams always look fuzzy for me, plus, the one thing that differentiated this whole thing from dream and reality was the lack of that feeling of _control _I always had when I was asleep. I always felt like an untouchable _god_ whenever I went had dreams, but now, there was no such reassurance.

If I got hurt here, I would suffer. If I fought, I'd get tired. Here, in this place, I could _die_. That was what my gut was telling me now, and my gut was usually right. I felt my stomach clench in anxiety and had to physically resist the urge to curl up in a ball somewhere and wait this out.

The question is though: what do I do now? I mulled over it; travelling alone was definitely out of the question. In a few weeks from now, Fiends would be scooting about like no-one's business.

Even presently, moving alone was a bad idea: Grado's forces are probably having a field day all over the country, and despite the fact that the majority of them probably don't want this war, I wasn't taking the chance that I'd run into some random mercenary that had no compunctions on doing me in to loot the body, although meeting Gerik's own troupe would be a welcome encounter (God Marisa is hot . . . I don't even know why I'm thinking about stuff like that in a situation like this) Even worse than a random mercenary would be meeting would be with . . . Oh! Oh . . . _Oh_ _shit_, Valter, Grado's resident crazy-ass, rapist-psycho.

Yeah, that settles it, I'm out of here.

Where to though?

"Why am I even thinking about this?" I muttered. It's obvious what I should be doing, wasn't it? Like they say, if in doubt, follow the most familiar path . . . or persons.

And they just rode past me. Crap. Let's hope they didn't make it too far then . . .

*.*.*

Luckily for me, they didn't, which is kind of cruel now that I think about it.

After all, what stopped them from doing so was being surrounded by eight or so Fighters and their commander. His name escapes me, but I faintly recall that it was similar to a Metal Slug character.

I'm hidden behind a clump of bushes, so thankfully they don't notice me despite how close I am. Not that it would matter with their prize right in front of them.

Eirika and Seth . . . and _yeowch _that looks nasty. I'd never thought about it before since they only had facial sprites, but Christ, that shoulder wound on Seth is really something. There's blood all over the place and he's really sweating. The Paladin was kinda pale as well, a clear sign of unacceptable blood-loss. Eirika, bless her sweet heart, looks worried out of her mind. I would too, if my best friend –_coughloveintrestcough_ – looked that injured while being surrounded by a group that wanted to change 'dying' to 'dead'.

I was tempted to intervene, but that wouldn't do much good besides me dying. Besides, Seth is there, and everyone knows how OP the red haired Paladin is. He could wipe the floor with them, no sweat . . . or so I told myself.

Something didn't feel quite right. It was this gut feeling I was getting; as I stated earlier, I've always had these gut feelings, and though they applied to a lot of things, there were only certain times where they were _always_ accurate:

Win/lose situations.

I could tell when one side was going to lose or win, when a plan would succeed or fail, or even when a penalty shot or free-throw would miss or score. Think of it as a hyper sensitive intuition of sorts.

My intuition never told me how to _prevent _those situations from occurring though; that was entirely up to whatever my head could think of, and right now, I was desperately trying to think of a way to change the vibe that this fight was giving me, because if things kept up as they were . . .

Seth was going to die.

*.*.*

Eirika had no idea what to do. Her kingdom and people were scattered, her father was _alone _with no hope of escape and Seth was injured, and even now was still fighting to protect her. Her head was a general mess and she just had to help but couldn't even find a _way to do it!_

She had never fought a true fight, never mind her training sessions with her brother, and her sword arm trembled at the thought of taking another life. More deeply, it trembled at the thought that it might be _her _life that would be taken. She was scared at the thought of fighting and dying and she _hated_ it, especially when Seth was fighting to protect her right in _front_ of her!

_"No . . . Eirika, you're better than this," _she thought to herself. _"You're a princess of Renais. Your subjects – your _knight _is in trouble and you have to help! For all things holy, stand up! Stand up! STAND UP!"_

The princess took a shaky breath, looking at the Fighters ahead of her. Stepping forward, she readied the rapier Seth had given her. She _had _to do this.

The Paladin himself was doing a fairly good job at keeping the eight of them at bay, but some were starting to get through him. One Fighter finally slipped past him, and made a beeline straight for the princess

Forcing herself to lift her sword, Eirika faced her assailant. "Haaah!" she shouted, charging at the man and brandishing her sword in a way that was completely different from how her brother taught her. Her fear was practically causing it to flail around.

"Milady don't-!" That momentary slip of his concentration proved to be fatal for the Paladin. A Fighter slipped right under the range of his spear and swung his axe at his horse. The large warhorse fell with a cry, taking its rider along with it.

"Seth!" screamed Eirika. She began running to his side, only to be intercepted by another fighter. He swung his axe at her, and only now did the training drilled into her by her brother kick in. She ducked under the swing and, turning swiftly, jabbed her sword through the gaps of his armor near his neck.

The man yelled in pain and dropped to his knees. Eirika was breathing heavily. She knew she had to finish him, but her worry for Seth overrode that. She turned towards where her knight fell, and what she saw would be forever engraved in her eyes.

She screamed again, higher and more painful, as the O'Neill brought the axe down on the Paladin's head.

*.*.*

There are times when I hated my guts for being right.

The princess wasn't acting as composed as I imagined her to be in the game. In fact, she was sort of freaking out. Seth was holding them off easily, but his injury was clearly weakening him. I figured one of these two was going to get him killed, but I wasn't sure which.

As it happened, Eirika freaked out first. The Lord (or was it Lady? Class titles are confusing when applied in real life . . .) charged towards the battle, attracting the attention of Seth and a few mooks. Unfortunately, that turned out to be pretty bad for her guardian. The momentary distraction allowed one of them to cut down Seth's horse (I cringed at that; a knight losing his horse is always a sad thing to look at) and get him on the ground with an ungraceful thud.

This was it. This was the key 'win or lose' point. Unfortunately, things didn't seem to be going their way. Eirika was doing well holding of that one Fighter, but Seth's wounds were giving him problems, especially since he was fighting against seven others.

The Paladin looked dazed from his fall, but remarkably kept his guard up and didn't give the fighters any space. It was obvious that this wouldn't last long though, and the moment Seth was down, Eirika was easy pickings.

It occurred to me that maybe I could do something about it, but I kept wondering _what_. I had some training in sword fighting, heck, I was the best fighter in our _Arnis _(or _Eskrima_, if you prefer) group, but this was real life (of sorts); it was totally different from the sparring matches and tournaments I've been to!

Urgh . . . but I couldn't just leave them. I had to know how I got here, and more importantly, how to get out. If thing played out just like in fiction, then Eirika and her brother were most likely my best bet at getting answers to those questions.

Suddenly, Seth looked woozy and for just a moment the man stumbled. Then came the axe.

Seth managed to block the weapon with his gauntlet, and prevented his head from being separated from his shoulders. Still, this blow sent him to the ground, and his sword skidded a few meters away from him . . . and towards me.

Dammit, now I know destiny's screwing with me.


	2. Initiation

"Well, well, well . . . it seems that the great Paladin Seth wasn't much at all. I've heard the rumors, you know?"

O'Neill was in a state of euphoria. The man was just a low-ranked commander, who's future consisted of nothing but having to follow the orders of those superior to him. The recently broken state of peace on the continent had ensured that he would not get any higher than he was now - there are no merits a soldier can be noted for if there was no war after all. Much to his dejection, he'd realized that he was never meant to be anything more than another nameless nobody, fated to be forgotten like countless others.

Until now, that is.

The tired and bleeding form one of Renais most premier generals lay before him. He was heavily injured, but his eyes where the eyes of someone who would had any intention of surrendering. O'Neill spat on the ground, more for effect if anything.

"The rumors about you . . . about how you're able to take entire scores of armed men by yourself. I have to admit, when I was first tasked with chasing after you, I was a bit nervous. I've only eight men - nothing in comparison to the hundreds you were rumored to defeat alone.

"Still, can you imagine my surprise when I found that not only where you injured, you were also carrying an extremely valuable prize with you." His eyes traveled towards the princess, the glint of mad ambition in his eyes. "When I take your head back with me, I'll be given fame and a nice little reward. With the princess in tow, I'll practically be made royalty - and the best part, it was all handed to me on a silver platter. For all this, _General Seth_, I thank you."

O'Neill decided that he'd done enough talking, and hefted his ax into his hand, ready to deliver the final blow. As he approached, Seth stared defiantly at him, though it looked like there was a glint of . . . shame? Yes, that was definitely shame on his face. O'Neill grinned, reveling in that expression as a man of lower stature like him would do; of course there would be shame. There was no greater failing for a knight that being unable to protect their lord.

Speaking of which, it was a shame that he wouldn't be able to have any 'fun' with the princess before turning her over to Lord Valter. The man had specifically requested that Princess Eirika remained . . . unspoiled. The crazy bastard probably wanted to soil her purity himself. He shook his head at the thought of General Valter. O'Neill wholly accepted that he wasn't the most righteous of men, heck, he could care less about his actions as long as they benefited him, but he had to agree with General Glen and General Deussel: Valter was a mad man that should never have been allowed back into the army.

_"Oh well, orders are orders, no matter who they're from_," he looked down on Seth and raised his ax. The princess screamed and he grinned.

He stopped abruptly as one of his men cried out in alarm. They were staring wide-eyed at something behind him.

"Wha-?!" he cried out, turning around and readying his ax.

That was when the hilt of a sword crashed into his face.

*.*.*

_Options options options, _I thought desperately. Do I go in there, or do I not? The sword in front of me is practically an Event Flag. The problem was, what kind of Visual Novel are we talking about? Is it like Fate/Stay Night where the dumbest choices are the best, or is it Dangan Ronnpa, where you played it safe until the time was right?

Obscure pop-culture references asides, I had a few seconds to make a decision. The fact that I even _had _that much time, I owed to O'Neill babbling like a dumbass, which sadly _still _didn't give me that much to work with. In the meantime, my body was doing its usual thing when confronted with important and critical situations - shaking like a leaf. I hated this feeling, but I knew it wouldn't go away until I actually _did _something. Then my mind started doing this little debate:

I have to help them!

_Why! We don't know them! We don't have to!_

I need Eirika alive if I ever intended to find out how I got here!

_If I go, I could die!_

They're my only chance to survive anything else!

_Survival now, or survival later?!_

More like die now or die later!

_I could run!_

And with that, my mind cleared up suddenly. That last word provided the impetus for me to decide what would be done. _Run? _I thought. _Run away? Again? Is that how it is? Every time I'm afraid, all I can do is run?_

_Never again!_

The back part of my mind that had been debating with me up until that point remained silent. Good, because I was literally so angry with myself for even considering I run; I had promised myself, way back then, that I would never run from a fight - especially a fight in where someone needed my help.

_Heh, that sounds so typically _Shounen Manga _even to me._

Nevertheless, I picked up the silver sword that Seth had dropped. It was light, not much heavier than the practice sticks I use in Arnis. I looked up, and O'Neill was approaching Seth at a relaxed pace, ax in hand. It seemed my little 'moment' had ended in an opportune time. Still, what could I do now? I was armed, but so where they, and there were six of them. Plus, how was I supposed to get passed them in time to save Seth? There was no way I could . . .

_Oh, no way . . ._

The source of my disbelief was straight ahead, where Seth and O'Neill were. To be more specific, I now realized that none of O'Neill's men where nowhere near him right now: They were all on the opposite side of where I was; they were busy watching the princess, and making sure she didn't interfere with Seth's execution. Even better, O'Neill himself had his back to me. That was when I had another bout of intuition. My guts screamed at me, "It's do or die time!" and I grinned.

Win or lose, here we go!

I gripped the handle of the sword, and charged wordlessly out of the bushes from where I hid. Gripping the hilt and the base of the blade, I prepared to smash the hilt into O'Neill's face. Why the hilt? Because despite all the things that happened today, I don't think I was ready to become a murderer, no matter the circumstances.

The Commander turned towards me as his men cried out, but it was too late. I put as much power as I could into my thrust. My weapon connected flush, and I was rewarded with a satisfying _crunch _and a sudden spray of blood. Some of it landed on me, but in all honesty, I wasn't too bothered by that; I've had worse on me when I went out boxing. O'Neill crumpled to the floor, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

_Huh, I wonder how much EXP that got me?_

I switched the grip of my sword immediately - I held it in my right hand and crossed it over to my left, nearly wrapping my arm around my body. It was a stance I assumed during Arnis matches when I wanted to go on defensive. Judging from the physique of the fighters, they were probably stronger than me, but even a novice swordsman could last a good while against an expert if he fought defensively.

_Alright, now comes the hard part._

The remaining Fighters stared at me in shock, most likely wondering who I was and where I had come from. Still, they would recover soon enough, and when that happened, I would be facing six other people alone. I was no Seth or Ross (once he was promoted anyway) and had no delusions about lasting very long against that many people. In the meantime, I spared a glance at the Paladin. He was looking as shocked as they were, but he was also looking less _healthy _than they were. Damn, I was hoping I could get him to fight with me or something, but he was definitely not in fighting condition. Now I was getting cold sweat from having to think about fighting six people at once.

"Who are you?" asked Seth. Hm, his voice is pretty much what I imagined it to be. Deep, but not rumbling, and real smooth.

I gave a nervous little grin. My first interaction with a video game character, and it was when he was heavily injured and I was in a position where I would be joining him soon. "Ah, just someone who's really, _really _lost." Hah, I always wanted to say something like that! "A-anyway, can you get up?"

He gave a nod.

"Okay, that's good." I didn't have time for anything else, because the remaining Fighter just gathered their wits and were charging at me. I clenched my teeth and prepared to fight for my life, when suddenly, one of them cried out in pain and fell to the floor. He twitched for awhile then stopped moving. He was dead.

The other fighters turned towards their fallen comrade, and there, standing above him, was the princess. She was ashen faced, but looked determined. There was blood on her rapier.

"Milady . . ."

_Huh, I completely forgot about her._

"I-I'm sorry Seth." I never really gave much thought to how Eirika would sound like in real life, but I had to admit, despite the fact that it was strained with anxiety, there was no denying that it was a beautiful voice, one that perfectly fit a princess. "Because of my weakness, you were hurt, but now, please, let me fight for you this time!"

And with that declaration, the princess lifted her rapier towards the remaining Fighters, who were doing a good job of looking confused and stupid. I took this opportunity to launch another surprise attack, which, much to my surprise, worked. Seriously, these guys are worthy of the label 'Tutorial Mobs' - their attention span is terrible!

I swung my sword at the man closest to me. The blade connected hard on his helmet. Fun fact: A helmet will prevent a sword from putting a neat little dent in your head, but will not stop pure concussive force from turning you brain into jelly. The man's helmet wasn't even good quality; there was a literal dent in the helmet where I had struck. The fighter fell to the ground and suddenly it looked like we were winning this battle. Now it was just me, Eirika, and four others.

Hopping back quickly, I settled into guard position once more. The red-shirt soldiers looked at each other nervously before nodding. They split up, two of them facing me and two of them facing Eirika. Even though I was still disadvantaged, I actually had the nerve to smile this time; fighting one-on-two was something I was actually used to.

We circled each other for a bit, not immediately attacking, while in the back round, the sound of metal rasping against metal went on. It seemed the other side was more eager to fight than we were. As much as I wanted to look over at their fight, I didn't have the luxury of taking my eyes off my opponents - I wasn't going to repeat the same mistakes _they _made after all.

One of them men ran to my left, while another charged straight at me. I kept my awareness on the man to my side, while also stepping diagonally - away from the man to my left, and sideways to the man in front of me. The Fighter in front swung his ax and I felt a small rush of adrenaline before parrying it away.

In a way, this was how the Weapon Triangle worked: A sword had a good advantage against an ax because it had longer range and could parry better. Axes where better and breaking through chainmail armor because of how much force you could generate from them, and where useful in beheading spears. Spearmen could stab a swordsman before they could even get close. I was thankful that of all the weapons I got, it was sword, and that every single Fighter here used nothing but axes.

The man swung again and once more I parried the blow, while still moving sideways. I raised my sword up and the man moved his ax to the side, anticipating the blow. He was therefore caught by surprise when I simply dropped down and struck his thighs. He had no armor on, so the blade cut deep. He screamed in pain but brought his ax down towards me. I slid the blade out of his limb and rolled behind him.

His comrade in the meantime was looking frustrated. No surprise; I deliberately kept moving sideways, a cheap tactic to keep our distance, and so far it had worked. The man I had injured was having a hard time standing, and there was a lot of blood pouring out of is wound. I decided to finish him so I could deal with his partner. I swung my blade against his helmet and knocked him out.

"Alright, red-shirt, it's just you and me," I muttered. Lifting my sword parallel to his body, I began bobbing from my toes.

Suddenly I did a small jump in place and, predictably, the Fighter reacted by swinging his ax at me. I ducked under the blow and counterattacked by swinging my blade at his legs. Like his friend earlier, he wasn't wearing armor there, so it cut easily. While he was busy with the pain, I stepped into his guard. He looked surprised and tried to swing his ax at me again - key word being 'tried'. I was too close to him now, and he had no room to swing.

I spun and smashed the hilt of my sword into his skull. Unlike his comrades, he wasn't wearing a helmet, which is why I had to move in close enough to do this. Now that he was on the floor and unconscious, I turned my attention to the Princess, intending to assist her.

"Woah," I said, and I felt my eyebrows raising. The princess, although shaking and tired-looking, was completely unharmed. On the ground were her two opponents: One was dead, and the other was clutching his sides in pain. His other hand had a gaping hole in it. I shot her a thumbs up. "Nice, Lady."

She didn't seem to be in the mood. "Seth!" she cried, dropping her rapier and running towards her Knight.

"I'm fine, milady, are you . . . ?"

She shook her head, and beads of tears were forming in her eyes. "Stop worrying about me, I'm fine! Anyway, we must get you to a healer" she said. Suddenly she turned towards me.

"Yes?"

"Sir . . . I haven't a clue who you are or why you helped us, but I thank you all the same," she said giving a small bow.

Normally, I wouldn't blush at praise - I practically ate it up - but I was willing to make an exception for royalty! "U-uh, no need to thank me, your highness!"

"But still I insist. If it hadn't been for you . . ." Immediately, she shook her head, as if to dispel bad thoughts. "Please, I know it is much to ask since you've helped us greatly already, but may I ask a favor of you?"

I nodded. "Anything, your highness. I don't mind." Especially if it get me into your good graces and insures I won't get stuck wandering alone.

She looked at Seth, who was looking at me with curiosity. "Can you help us? I've no idea if there are any more of Grado's men after us. It would be helpful if we had another to assist us. Please, help us, at least until we reach Castle Mulan."

"I already said I don't mind princess," I said, a little bemused. She was obviously more worried for Seth than for herself. "Anyway, are you sure you want my help? I can't do much. I won a while ago mostly due to luck. That asides, are you sure you can trust me?"

It didn't exactly help my situation by asking all these questions, but I had to know where I stood with Eirika. My life depended on it.

She shook her head, as if denying what I just said. "You are skilled, skilled enough to help us at least for this moment. As for trusting you, if you intended to do us harm, you've had many opportunities already, but have not done anything," she stared at me with earnest eyes, and it was at that moment I realized why she was so popular among her subjects. Those eyes of hers were so kind and caring and _warm_. Christ, what was I suppose to say to something like that?

There was a moment of silence as I gathered my wits. The princess stared at me the entire time.

"Okay," I replied finally. "I help in any way I can, your Highness."


	3. At Castle Mulan

Franz rode hard and fast for three days. Like General Seth had said, Grado's forces scarcely noticed a single rider, and he was unhindered. Still, if he could have it any other way, he'd have gotten to Frellia faster, but he couldn't push his horse to move more than it was capable.

He would be reaching Castle Frellia soon, but he wondered if he could get back in time to help the General . . .

"Halt!" cried a deep, rumbling voice.

Franz pulled the reigns of his horse, gripped the handle of his sword and turned to meet the one who spoke, before sighing in relief. It was a Knight and his entourage, but they were bearing the standard of Frellia.

"Who are you, and what is your purpose?" asked the Knight. His group formed rank behind him; Franz estimated there was about thirty of them.

The young man dismounted from his horse and snapped his hand up in salute. "I am Franz, a Cavalier of Renais. I come to petition aid from Frellia to assist in halting Grado's invasion!"

The Knight stared at Franz for a few moments, his eyes moving towards the symbol of Renais on his right shoulder guard, and then nodded. "Very well, I do not see any falsehood in your words. Still, I suggest you hold off your request for reinforcements, Sir Franz."

"If I may ask: Why?"

The Knight sighed shook his head in resignation. "Frellia's forces are taxed thin. The King might have something else to say of the matter, but for now, we have nothing to offer in terms of manpower. If I could give an idea to just how grave this situation is; tell me, Franz, did you pass by Border Castle Mulan on the way here?"

Franz nodded. It was impossible to get to Frellia from Renais without having to go near the castle. Normally as a buffing zone between two nations, there would be someone on patrol there to inspect Franz and ascertain his intentions but . . .

"I did. It was under siege," he said grimly.

The Knight gritted his teeth at the news. "We knew that much, but what you and likely Grado does not know, is that Princess Tana is there, at the Castle."

Franz eyes widened in shock. "T-the Princess Tana? Why is she there!?"

As a Knight of his nation, the safety of their royalty was their top priority; it was their solemn duty to make sure no harm comes to them. For the knights of Frellia, this was doubly true when applied to their Princess. Tana was King Haydn's jewel, and doted on her endlessly. Franz highly doubted that the King would ever put her in a position of danger, so that meant she acted out on her own. The question is _why_?

"The Princess heard about the siege of Renais some weeks ago. She headed for Caste Mulan to survey the situation herself, and got caught up in a surprise siege. When the King found out, he was worried out of his mind, but as I said earlier, we don't have many soldiers to spare," the Knight looked at his entourage. "What you see here is all he could spare to save the Princess."

Franz blanched at that. If all Frellia could send to assist their precious Princess was a mere thirty Knights, the chances of them sending anymore to assist Renais was absolutely zero.

"I . . . see."

The young Cavalier was at a loss on what to do now. His mission was to ask assistance from Frellia, but it was evident that he wouldn't be getting it. He stood in silence as he stewed over what his next course of action would be.

The Knight seemed to pick up on that, and spoke. "If you want, lad, you can come help us. You won't be getting reinforcements anytime soon, but you do need to get back to Renais, right? You'll have to go through Castle Mulan to do so, but you won't be able to sneak through once the fighting starts. What say you, Franz?"

Franz didn't need to consider his offer for long. He'd wanted to help anyway.

"I agree, plus, if milady and General Seth stay on course, we should meet them there."

"Seth? As in the Silver Knight?" asked the Knight with raised brow.

Franz nodded. "The very same."

The Knight smiled, and his companions looked hopeful. "Well, if he is to join us in battle, perhaps this little skirmish is not so hopeless at all."

The young Cavalier smiled. It was always good to hear praise of his General. The Knight extended a hand towards him and he shook it.

"Well, it's good to have you join us, young Franz. My name is Gilliam, Commander Knight of Frellia."

*.*.*

"Are you okay, Seth?"

The three of us were taking a break in a small forest clearing near the road. Princess Eirika wanted to go faster and reach Castle Mulan for a healer, but Seth reassured her that he was going to be fine – gotta love Vulinaries – and we slowed down our pace to allow Seth to recuperate.

I was seated near the road, and looking at the two of them, with Eirika asking the same question every few minutes and in general acting like a mother hen, much to the Paladins' discomfort and my amusement. Seth must have caught my smirk, because he was grimacing with embarrassment right now. It was a weird expression to see on the normally composed Knight.

"Milady please, I'm fine, besides, it's unnecessary for you to have to worry over me," said Seth.

"Nonsense! You were injured protecting me, so I at least bear the responsibility to make sure you are all right!" The Princess' hands were trembling as she said this, and the guilt on her face hurt to look at.

Seth grabbed hold of her shaking hands and looked straight into her eyes. "Milady Eirika, I must ask you to stop thinking like this. None of what happened to me was your fault. I am a Knight of Renais and to be injured defending you is an honor above others! To have you be guilty over that causes me shame as a Knight, so please Princess, stop worrying for me, I will be fine, I promise."

Eirika stared back, and for a moment there was a long silence. Then she turned her eyes downwards. "Yes . . . of course. Forgive me for my worrying, Seth; I did not mean to shame you. It's just . . . you are my protector, and the only one I have right now. I do not know what I would do without you."

"Milady, I swear on my honor as a Knight, until you are safe and Renais is restored, I will not fall," said the Knight. His voice was solemn, but he was giving the Princess a reassuring smile.

The two then began this little staring contest that lasted a few second. If you paid attention, you could see flowers booming and sparkles in the background, and the faint smell of _love_ . . . I'm joking, by the way. Seriously though, they've been having these little moments quite a lot now (ten times in three days by my count); if this was still the game, this would probably count for a support conversation.

It was a little strange though. Normally, Seth would've pulled the "I'm your Knight and you're royalty and I'm sorry for liking you please forgive me bye" thing that h did in his support conversations, but so far he hasn't. It felt out of character for some reason.

Anyway, time to break up the happy couple.

"As much as I enjoy seeing you two flirt with each other, we better get on the move. The sun is rising and we have schedule to keep," I say in the blandest voice possible.

I smirk inwardly as the two of them flush a deep red. Seth keeps his composure, of course, but Eirika loses it completely. Heh.

"W-w-what do you mean? T-there's nothing of that sort going on Sir Karl!" she stammers, lighting up like a traffic light on 'stop'.

Ah, right, speaking of which, I had given the two my name right after the battle. I never real got why all those Fire Emblem: Awakening Self-Inserts used a false name; after all, you were stuck in a different world, so why bother faking it? It's not like it's going to cause any problems. So in the end, I gave them my real one.

Seth gives a small cough. He's still red by he way. "Quite. Anyway, your misunderstandings aside," – Hah! Misunderstandings my _ass_ – "you are right. We'd best get a move on, your highness."

The princess nodded, and we all got up. I picked up the ax and dagger I looted from one of the dead Fighters, and hung it around an improvised sling that I made from my clothes – yet another mystery among the many that had come to my attention as soon as I arrived here. They were black funeral clothes, something that definitely stood out in this world.

I paused looking at the weapons at my sling, and my mind went back to the events that had taken place three days prior, at the time directly after the fight . . .

*.*.*

As soon as I finished agreeing to aid the princess, Seth stood up. "Thank you for your assistance, sir."

I shrugged. "It's no problem, anyway, I – what are you doing?"

The Knight was walking towards me with a grim look on his face. "My sword, give it to me."

"O-oh! Right, sorry," I said as I handed the sword back to him.

"My thanks."

The moment he got his hand on his sword, he began walking towards the fallen Fighters; more specifically, the ones I had knocked out and the one Eirika incapacitated.

"Seth, what are you doing?" asked the Princess with a puzzled expression on her face. I didn't have her naïveté, however, and I knew exactly what Seth was doing. I groaned.

Seth's face was stone. "We have to finish them off, your highness; otherwise they will come back for us."

The Princess face paled. I'm pretty sure I looked the same. "Y-you mean to kill them?"

Seth stayed silent, but that silence was answer enough.

"B-but – they – !"

"Princess . . . I understand your hesitation, but it must be done," said Seth gently.

Before the Princess could object again, I spoke up.

"I'll do it."

The two of them turned to me, surprise on their faces. I stretched my arm out to Seth, asking for the sword.

"They were my opponents, I'll finish them off," I grunted out in explanation.

Seth scrutinized me. "Is this your first kill?" The way he said it did not sound like a question. I nodded, and he shook his head. "Then you do not need to get blood on your hands."

_Snap!_

"Don't fuck with me, Paladin," I growled out, suddenly getting angry. He looked startled as I grabbed the sword from his hands. I couldn't help it; he was treating me with goddamn kiddy gloves! "If there's one thing I hate, its people trying baby me. Do _not_ fucking underestimate me."

I walked over to my unconscious opponents, and I was thankful that they weren't awake for this. I considered where I would stab them and sighed. I bent down and removed their breastplates. One stab to the heart, and it would be a quick, clean and painless death.

My hand trembled as I lifted it over the body. I took a deep breath and brought it down, snuffing out the life of the Fighter. I repeated the process with my remaining two foes, including O'Neill himself. Thrice I brought the sword down, and thrice I took a life. I stood in silence as Seth and Eirika looked at me.

"I will do so as well," the princess said suddenly. I looked at her in shock, an expression mirrored by Seth. I know it was a bit hypocritical to be surprised at her decision, but the thought of having the Princess do what I just did . . .

"Your Highness . . ."

"Don't argue with me Seth, he," said Eirika looking at me, "is right. They were my opponents, and I have a duty to finish them."

Her voice rang with conviction, but her face was sickly green. She was seriously sick just thinking about it. Seth obviously wanted to object, but I raised a hand and stopped him. "Let her do it Seth. You know she has to." I didn't bother explaining why. He already knew.

The Knight bowed his head in silence.

The Princess made her way slowly to her downed foes, and like me, removed their breastplates. Lifted her sword and closed her eyes tightly.

. . .

In moment, it was over, and there was nothing left but corpses on the field. The princess fell to her knees and started dry heaving. Seth ran to her side and knelt beside her, and the girl began clinging to him as tears rolled down her cheeks. There was something poetically moving about seeing something like this with my own eyes, but I was too busy being sick with myself to appreciate it.

Not 'being sick myself' but 'with myself'. Seeing Eirika break down on the floor made me realize something I'd been trying to avoid thinking about.

I dreaded killing someone, but it was never for the same reason as someone like Eirika, who was so innocent, she simply couldn't condone taking a life. It was something I had long thought about, even before I came to this world. I was afraid that when I did kill someone, I would feel no guilt, no pang of despair at lost innocence, or the pain of taking a life. Back then, I would have never considered finding an answer to this question, but here, in this world where I would inevitably have to kill to live, I was forced to find that fears where as justified as the disgust I felt for myself:

It was the first time I killed someone, and I felt absolutely _nothing_.

We looted the bodies afterwards and went on our way, and despite our victory, the three of us traveled under the heavy feeling of loss.

*.*.*

"We're here."

Eirika jolted like she'd just been subjected to a volt of electricity. She pointed at the castle and said in a soft voice, "Seth, look . . ."

Even from here, the Castle Mulan was visible. Unfortunately, so were the red banners flying above it. Equally visible were the dozens of Grado Footmen milling about the fields.

Seth looked grim "I see it. It seems like Grado's army has already reached Frellia."

"Er, so what do we do now, Seth?" I think I'll refer to him as that for now. It was confusing having to alternate between 'General' and 'Paladin', and besides, I wasn't a part of Renais military or even a mercenary, so I think I can forgo addressing him by rank. On that note, I think I'll stick to calling Eirika 'Princess'; after all, royalty was royalty no matter what you are and where your from.

Suddenly his eyes looked reproachful, and it felt like I had just blasphemed or something. I was taken aback and wondered why. "Er, unless, um . . ."

He shook his head and looked at Eirika, who couldn't see Seth's face since his back was turned, and was likely wondering why I was probably sweating bullets.

"Your highness?"

. . . Oh.

So _that's_ why he gave me that look. Whoops. My mistake; it seemed I was a little bit _too _used to seeing him as a powerful figure. Despite his rank at strength, the leader of our group was still Eirika, no technicalities about it.

I guess I should probably apologize, but the Princess looked like she didn't even realize I did anything wrong. Seth for his part, spoke again. "Princess . . . I know that look in your eye. Princess, this place is perilous. We should bypass Mulan altogether and head straight to the Castle Frellia."

"But we can't just ignore this... You were there when Renais was invaded . . . You saw what I saw. You saw how the people suffered at the hands of Grado's soldiers. Homes were destroyed, possessions stolen, women kidnapped . . . Anyone who resisted was executed without question, without hesitation."

Well what do you know, it's the same dialogue word-per-word! I highly doubt that Seth's going to accept it so easily this time though, not when looking at the situation at hand.

". . ."

Hey, you _aren't _going to go through with this right? RIGHT!?

"Please, Seth. I can't allow that to happen here. I don't want to see any more people harmed by Grado's atrocities."

Don't you _DARE_ agree to this Seth!

"Your highness . . . I'm afraid I must advise against that order."

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The Paladin spoke with a resigned tone as his Princess gave him a pleading look. "There are only three of us right now, Princess. Even if was fully recovered, we would still need at least forty people to siege a Castle Mulan, and even then that would take time; time we do not have."

I nodded my head in agreement while also wondering if Eirika or Seth noticed his unintentional complement of his skills. Unlike the game, where with two (or four, once Franz and Gilliam showed up) people you could defeat a handful of soldiers and take the castle back in a day, you would need a small army to fight off and several days to accomplish victory. Though I suspected there were these kinds differences earlier on when O'Neill showed up with eight men instead of two, the castle and army ahead of me was the really giving me the differences between the game and the reality I was stuck in. So as it was, despite it being the morally right thing to do I wouldn't attack. I just had no interest in dying uselessly.

I would never run from a fight, but if we went in there, that wouldn't be a fight, it would be a one-sided, absolute _DEATH_. In caps and italics for emphasis.

Going back to the present, Eirika looked absolutely mutinous. Seth stood his ground, but he was clearly uncomfortable about denying his princess. I decided now would be the best time to help him out.

"Look, aah, Princess?" I said, waving a hand to get her attention. "I know you want to help out and stuff, but . . . you know, you'll only be doing Grado a favor if you charge in there."

Seth speaks up to back my point. "Sir Karl is right, your highness. As it is now, there is nothing we are capable of doing. We're without an army and low on time. Our best course of action is to gather resources and help, then return here."

Eirika bit her lip, clearly smart enough to realize we were smart, but also incredibly conflicted. Finally, she relented. ". . . very well. I dislike it, but you're right. We will have to come back another time."

And on that note, we were once again on our way. Huzzah for logical thinking!

Still thought . . . the one fact that bothered me was that Tana was still being held hostage in there, but I wasn't about to give this piece of information to Eirika. If she found that out, she would rush in there, Seth or no Seth.

It was really the only thing I regretted in leaving the Castle alone. Tana was a sweet girl from what I had seen in the game, and since this was that game translated into real life, there was likely nothing good awaiting her as a hostage there. The book _Pillars of the Earth_ taught me that much; that if there was a young, cute, _virgin _princess locked away in a Castle with enemies, _stuff _happened. I grimaced at the memory of a _certain _chapter of that book, and hoped that at the very least Tana would . . . uh . . . er . . .

. . . Man I couldn't even _imagine _a bright side for her.

Great, know I was feeling just like Eirika was likely feeling. If you need to know how deliberately choosing to abandon a person in need felt like, let me tell you: It felt like _shit._

I sighed. There was nothing we could do about it anywa-

"Seth, Sir Karl, over there!"

Hm?

I looked in the direction Eirika was pointing. It was near one of the nearby fortifications. As soon as I caught sight of what she wanted us to see, I think I grinned a little.

A small group of Grado's forces were engaged in battle. Well, I call it a battle, but it was more of what I described earlier: One-sided, absolute _DEATH_. In caps and italics for emphasis!

Numbering around, I don't know, twenty I guess? I couldn't see exactly how many from here. Dressed in primarily in green and charging down the mountain were Frellian soldiers. It looked like they caught them by surprise, because I was seeing no reinforcements coming for Grado.

I shook my head in incredulity. Of course they would come with a small army. If Grado's forces numbered more than they did in the game, why couldn't Gilliam's and Franzs'?

"Isn't that Franz?" asked the Princess, unknowingly confirming my point.

Seth nodded. "It seemed he succeeded in asking for reinforcements, although it seems the help that Frellia can afford is sparse. I am thankful though. A retinue of thirty Knights is a big help to us."

On that note, may I point out that these two have insanely good eyesight?

"It's still not enough to take back the castle though," I pointed out.

Eirika shot me a dirty look - as dirty as she could muster anyway - and was about to speak up until Seth interrupted her. "I wouldn't be too sure about that anymore, Sir Karl."

"Huh?"

Both me and Eirika turned to him in confusion. He gave a shake of his head.

"I will explain later. What are your orders, Princess."

Returning her attention to the battle, she put on determined expression. "Let us go join them."

Seth nodded and despite my reservations, so did I. Eirika gave us a smile of gratitude and in a heartbeat, the three of us ran into the battlefield.


	4. Establish!

**AN: **_Fun fact: Innes is about 17-20 years old, meaning he could be younger than me if I chose to make him so :)_

_On that note, assuming that Franz is around the same age as the older Royalty characters (Ephraim & Innes), and then Amelia is slightly younger he is, and Ross is younger than SHE is AND Ewan is WAY younger than Ross, we can assume:_

_Franz (17-20) Amelia (16-18) Ross (15-17) Ewan (13-14) - conversely, this would mean: Lute, Artur, Neimi, Colm, L'Arachel, Eirika & Tana (16-19) Kyle, Forde, Marisa, Vanessa & Rennac (19-22) Natasha, Joshua, Tethys, Syrene & Cormag (21-24) Gerik, Seth & Saleh (23-27) Gilliam, Dozla & Garcia (25-30) Moulder & Deussel (37-41) Myrrh (dafuq?)_

_Just had to put that up._

_On another note, this chapter was pretty rushed, and that I can't believe it's going to take me three chapters to get passed stage one. Might remedy this with longer updates. What do you guys think?_

* * *

><p>Breguet leaned back on the throne he was sitting on. He'd been feeling a tad accomplished as of late. The taking of the castle was sure to earn him a hefty reward. In addition to that, he had in his hands one hell of a bargaining chip!<p>

The first princess of Frellia, Tana, was locked up in the castle dungeons. By this time, word would have gotten out, and he was sure that King Haydn would do anything to get his precious princess back!

He laughed uproariously at his success and the upcoming rewards, and was about to command a nearby servant to get him a drink to help celebrate himself, when Footman burst through the door.

"Milord, I bring urgent news!"

Breguet growled. His good mood was just ruined. "There had better be a good explanation for why you interrupted my happy time, dog!"

"H-happy time, sir?" said the Footman, looking lost for words.

The commander snarled, "Well!?"

"M-my apologies sir, a small force of Frellian soldiers have crossed the border of Mulan, and even now engage our forces!"

Breguet stood from his chair in shock. He stomped towards the Footman and glowered over him. "When did this happen?!"

The poor Footman shook where he stood, clearly intimidated by his glare. "O-over – just over an hour sir!"

"What do those Frellian dogs think they're doing?! Do they not realize I hold their princess' life in my hands! How do they have the gall to march up and attack me?"

The Footman remained silent, seeing the rhetorical for what it was. An irrational annoyance swelled up inside him and he swung the back of his fist across his face and knocked him across the floor. Storming out of the room, Breguet yelled for his squire to bring him his weapons.

He would see to this farce himself!

Stepping out of the throne room, Breguet looked over the balcony overseeing the land. "Where is the battle?" he demanded from the Footman, pulling a small collapsible telescope from a pouch at his side.

The man got to his feat, and bit his lip to resist the urge to curse against his superior. This was not the first time Breguet had done this, and he was not the first victim subjected to his choleric temper. The look the Footman was giving him would have earned him another blow from his commander - perhaps even worse than that - but at this point, Breguet was more concerned with other things and therefore did not so much as look at him as he spoke; because of this, he did not see the open loathing on the Footmans' face.

"The battle . . . is due west of the castle, _sir,_" hissed the Footman though grit teeth.

Breguet turned towards the direction indicated and lifted the telescope to his eye. Peering through it, he quickly caught a glimpse of the ongoing battle. Sure enough, it was thirty or so Frellian men standing over a multitude of his own soldiers. He cursed in anger. Just as he was about to send the order out to his men, when he spotted something _very _interesting.

"Well I'll be a lucky son of bitch," he murmured. "Can it be . . . ?"

He had seen her and her brother many times when they came to visit the Prince, so it was safe to assume he would recognize her on-site, but it was still hard for him to believe; her being here clashed directly with the facts in his head. According to reports, Renais and its castle were surrounded, and its army utterly decimated. Lord Valter himself had led the siege, and as ruthless and insane the man was, he was nothing but efficient, so there was supposed to be no way for the princess to be here.

Except she was. He could see her clearly standing among the small retinue of Frellian soldiers, her long and unmistakable teal hair flowing freely down her back.

"The princess of Renais? Hahahahaha! It really is my lucky day! Fame and fortune ride to meet me!" he roared gleefully, head filled with images of the prominence and rewards he would receive tenfold. Turning towards the handful of men that had assembled behind him, he shouted, "Move on, you slugs! Bring that girl to me!"

*.*.*

By the time we got there, the Frellian soldiers were just about cleaning up the Grado Footmen. We still had enough time to see Gilliam, who was easily recognizable despite the helmet, thoroughly trounce the remaining scrubs though.

Seriously, the Knight wasn't fast nor was his technique too noteworthy - it was good, but nothing spectacular - but he knew how to use his armor (which here basically amounted charging through the enemy lines without giving a damn, because none of them had the proper equipment to handle a heavily armored knight) and more importantly, he was _freaking strong._ Not the Seth kind of strong, which was being _absurdly _strong but hiding it beneath mounds of courteous behavior and respectful silences, but the kind of strong where you swing your lance and people literally start _flying,_ kind of strong; it was a more overt kind of power that was being displayed.

I stepped to the side as the last living Grado soldier flew towards me and crashed into the ground, quickly becoming the last _dying _Grado soldier. If I knew how to whistle, I would at seeing the extremely one-sided manslaughter in front of me. It was made more impressive when you considered the fact that there were considerably _more _soldiers from Grado against the Frellian force, and while all of them had fallen, not a single Frellian soldier was so much as injured.

"Well met, Franz," said Seth, walking towards the Cavalier, who looked startled to see him there.

Looking at the guy up close, I could tell that he wasn't really that much older than me. Around seventeen to eighteen years old I guess? Still, he was taller than me by about six inches, which made me feel a bit insecure. I mean, Seth was taller than me, but he was _Seth _for crying out loud! Eirika on the other hand was around my height, but that was more degrading than comforting.

"Sir Seth!" exclaimed Franz, dismounting his horse and snapping into a salute. The look of delight faded fast though, and was quickly replaced by a look of confusion. "Sir? Where's Adam?"

Adam? Who the heck is that?

Seth grimaced. Surprisingly, so did Eirika. What did I miss? "He fell in battle when we were intercepted by Grado footmen during our escape from the Castle. It was unfortunate, but he was an excellent companion until the end."

Wait, fell in battle during . . . ? Oh!

"The name of your horse was Adam?" I blurted out suddenly. I couldn't help it! It was enough of a surprise to figure out that his horse had a name that was never given in the games, but that its name also happened to be the father of Seth's namesake. It was kind of funny.

There was a small bit of silence, and I realized that everyone's eyes were on me. I began sweating nervously. "Uh, yes?"

"Sir, who is this?" asked Franz. There was no tone of disdain or suspicion in his voice, just curiosity, for which I was thankful. Most people don't treat strangers that seemingly appear from nowhere really well, especially in a war zone. I flashed him a thumbs up that only seemed to make him confused.

"Ah, right, you've yet to be introduced. This is Sir Karl, he aided me and the princess while I was gravely injured and surrounded by foes. It is thanks to him that we have made it this far," stated Seth.

Remember when I said that I practically ate up praise from people with the exception that it was from royalty? Well, I wasn't lying! "Ha ha! It wasn't all that much! Sure there were more of them, but they were lightly armored and not very skilled!" I said while grinning and puffing out my chest. "They were a bit of a problem, yes, but I managed to deal with them in the end."

"I helped as well you know," said Eirika, looking at me slightly bemused at my boasting.

"Of course, of course. Can't forget that part. Was that your first fight?" I asked. The princess nodded. "Well, it you were real impressive regardless." Eirika looked surprised a at first, but then smiled and accepted the praise. I gave my own little grin back; it was nice to know she could take a complement for what it was.

At this point, Giliam and his men finished checking for any injuries or missing members, as well as completing their looting of the bodies. As he neared us, he took of his helmet and knelt before Eirika. I would take this time to mention that he is as intimidating as I imagined under that helmet.

"Your highness," he said, in a deep rumbling voice. "It is good to see that you and Sir Seth are fine." Franz stared at him for a moment before realizing that he had forgotten to bow to his own monarch when a knight of a different country did not. He quickly dropped to his knees and stammered out a quick apology. I didn't bother suppressing my snort of laughter at that, which earned me a small glare from Franz.

I was tempted to stick my tongue out at him just to see how he would react, but I decided against it. There was a time and place for childishness.

"Please, you may rise you two, and I thank you for you concern sir . . . ?"

"Gilliam, your highness, just a humble knight of Frellia."

"Humble you may be, but the strength of your lance arm is certainly something," remarked Seth. I'd say I have to agree with him. That also got me wondering, if this was how Gilliam was, how would Garcia and eventually Ross turn out to be? Oh, and Deussel too; I was getting excited just imagining how all these guy could fight like now.

Gilliam looked pleased the complement and adjusted the lance he was holding so that it was visible as it rested on his shoulder. "A complement from the Silver Knight himself? I must be doing well today. In any case, what brings you here to Castle Mulan? Surely you do not mean to stay here for long?"

Eirikia shook her head. "We meant to, but as you can see, Grado's army has taken it. Our final intent, however, was to go to Frellia and ask for assistance, though it seems that won't be needed."

At that Franz scratched his head a looked embarrassed. He looked at Gilliam as if asking for his assistance, and the older man nodded in response. "I'm afraid there has been a bit of a misunderstanding, your highness."

"Hm? How so?" said Eirika, taken aback.

"We were not sent here to aid you, Princess Eirika, it just so happened that our paths crossed here," said Gilliam. "Young Franz here agreed to join us, as he was eager to regroup with you and Sir Seth."

"Ah . . . I see," said Princess Eirika. She tried to hide it, but it was fairly obvious that she was greatly disappointed. I know I was. "So what does bring you and your men here?"

I resisted the urge to groan. I knew exactly what they were here for, and once Eirika knew, I knew what she was going to do next, and I knew I wasn't going to like it. That was a lot of knew.

The knights exchanged looks at the princess' question, probably wondering if they had to answer her. I prayed to god that they wouldn't, but the fact that I was in this situation made suspect that God hated me. When Gilliam spoke and answered, I _knew for certain _he hated me.

"Our last reports informed us that Princess Tana was still in the castle when it was seized. Since then, we've received no word of her return and can only assume that she has been captured."

Eirika looked stunned, and the color drained out of her face quickly. "So . . . you mean to get her back?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Of course."

At this point, I was watching Eirika really closely, so that none of her reactions were missed to me. The moment Gilliam confirmed they were there to rescue Tana, color rushed back to her face as quickly as it had gone, and a look of determination graced her features. I sighed and readied my ax and dagger. Here we go . . .

"I will help you."

Neither me nor Seth looked stunned, already expecting her to say that. On the other hand, the looks on the soldiers', Franz, and Gilliams' faces were priceless.

"P-princess?"

Eirika continued, undaunted. "Tana is my best friend and a good person. My father's fate is unsure and I have no news on my brother. I do not know if either of them still live, and the thought plagues me every moment; for the life of me, I will not allow Tana's own family to go through this pain. I will fight with you."

Everyone's eyes were on her as a stunned silence echoed throughout the field. I myself felt awe for this girl who looked like she was scarcely older than me. She was as self-sacrificing as they came; completely different from me. I've lived more selfishly than most people I knew - it's a lifestyle choice I've regretted once and _only_ once, and anyway, that was besides the point, point being that I think Eirika was amazing.

Any normal princess, heck, any normal _person _would have cut their losses and try to get to safety as fast as possible, but ever since I've been around her, not once have I seen her prioritize herself over others. Even now, when she offered to help Gilliam, she said 'I' not 'we'; she wasn't expecting my or Seth's help, though we would give it anyway. This personality of hers evident and respectable in the game, but just awe-inspiring to behold in person. I felt my earlier exasperation dissolve away under the weight of her charisma.

I smiled and nodded towards Seth while raising a brow, basically asking him, "I'm good with this. You?"

He nodded back, face neutral, but answer evident: "Of course."

It seemed Franz is more objectionable to the idea though. "B-but, your highness, consider the danger! As knights, we cannot allow you to come to danger. If the rescue of Princess Tana is what you want, would it not be best to leave it to us and put yourself out of harms way?"

At this proclamation, I frowned a little. Franz was technically right; Eirika was royalty, and normally, anything that put her in danger had to be avoided like the plague, but he didn't know Eirika as well as Seth or I did (it kind of felt like I was cheating about this though, since I knew her through the games) so he had no idea how Eirika would feel about this matter; there was no way she was backing down from this.

"My decision is final, Sir Franz. Though I dislike conflict, I will not be the kind of ruler than commands her men to fight for her, when she herself will not step forward. Like my brother Prince Ephraim, I will lead from the front and never shall I hide behind another," said Eirika. "This is my wish, Sir Franz. Will you try and deny me this?"

Not once did she raise her voice, but her words carried clearly through the field, carrying with them the weight of authority and absolute determination. I grinned to myself and couldn't help but think that this was the power of true royalty. Not just the one's born into nobility, but someone who had the capability and greatness to have people follow them through fire and water. From the look on everyone else's face, I could tell I was not alone in this: Gilliam looked awestruck and Seth . . . man, how the heck was I supposed to describe the look on his face other than 'love-struck?'; I just couldn't find a better description - I didn't blame him though, I myself was just freaking awed all over again!

Franz got to his knees for the second time today and dipped his head. "M-my Lady, I apologize for my presumptuousness! Please forgive your humble servant - I was only concerned for your well-being, but if your wish is to lead, then by all means I will follow you to - bweh!?"

That was the sound of him being interrupted by the palm of my hand meeting the back of his head. He turned and shot me a glare and I this time I really _did _stick my tongue out. Before he could react though, I spoke: "Enough with the talking, Franz. You're a knight, correct? Then apologize by raising your sword by her side."

Haha! He looks stunned by my sudden bout of eloquence, but really, all this talking was wasting time. I turned towards Gilliam. "So, do you have a plan to take back the castle?"

Much to my surprise, he shook his head. "The best we can come up with is to besiege it through sheer force, but that is a fools plan. Castle's were designed to be difficult to capture head on. Also, there is the problem with the amount of forces they have at their disposal. We are unsure as to their exact number, but we know they have more than us."

"I believe that as much an issue as you suspect, Sir Gilliam," said Seth.

"Oh yeah, you mentioned something like that earlier. What do you mean?"

In response, the Paladin pointed towards the castle. "During the battle earlier, the Grado forces failed to send reinforcements despite the relative closeness to the castle. Moreover, despite their taking the castle, I see none of the multitudes moving about as one would normally associate with such a feat," he said. "This leads me to suspect that they perhaps lost more forces than acceptable during the siege. As of now, they are probably awaiting reinforcements to help secure their position."

"I actually suspected as much, but was unable to confirm it myself," said Gilliam, looking impressed with his analysis but still grave, "though to hear it from your mouth is confirmation enough. Still, this does not change the fact that we still have to find a way to get into take the castle before reinforcements arrive, and moreover, it must be done within the day."

"A-a day!" exclaimed Franz. "To take a castle within that time, it's impossible!"

"I agree with him," I said. "What's with the rush?"

"Princess Tana is presumably their hostage, but so far there has been no word of ransom yet. This can mean one of two things: The princess is either dead, or commander of the forces stationed here has not yet informed his superiors of her capture. If it is the first, then it matters not how many days we take: we have already failed. If it is the second, then there will be a delay in orders that will last for at least a day. In that time, they can do nothing to the princess, for fear of wasting a heavy bargaining chip."

"And in that time, we have to take her back before they make up their minds," I finished for him. Gilliam nodded in response. "This is one hell of a challenge for us, you know?"

To recap: We are slightly outnumbered, our enemy is well fortified, and we have a time limit of today to do it. Not entirely reasonable conditions, and this from stage one! I began imagining what the other stages would be like and decided against it; no good worrying myself with future battles when I had to deal with the one going on presently.

"If we could only find some way to deal with their numbers and breach the castle . . ." murmured Franz, "but what?"

I was wondering the same thing. In the game, the Commander and several troops stayed firmly in the castle, and as soon as I got close, reinforcements would arrive from behind. Then I remembered something from a manga I'd read. The situation was different, but the circumstances and conditions were similar. Perhaps . . .

"Uh, hey, Seth?" I said.

"Yes, Sir Karl?"

"How would you go about scaling a castle?"

He looked surprised at my suggestion, and I raised a hand at what I predicted was protest. "Humor me for a moment."

Seth kept quiet after that and thought it over. "Firstly, it must be done from an advantageous position, one were we will not be interrupted from the outside. Secondly, it must be done at a time where none will notice. Both requirements are difficult for us to obtain in this situation."

"And why is that?"

"Because the castle is surrounded on both sides by mountain. It's impossible to sneak that close to it without being spotted. Also, the best time for it would be evening, where we are under the cover of darkness, but as you know, we have time constraints."

I quickly thought these facts over. Certainly, it _seemed _impossible when you put it that way, but I was having a gut feeling that there was a way to accomplish it. Naturally, I trusted my gut and thought things through some more. How did Griffith pull it off again? He had all his soldiers cornered and had a detached force scale the walls of the castle and capture it.

The numbers weren't the problem. I knew how to deal with that already. At least I hope I did. The problem was the timing. I needed a way to give us an opening to scale the wall.

"Is something the matter, Sir Karl?" Princess Eirika interrupted my thoughts, looking a bit concerned. Huh, I must have been thinking _too _deeply if I didn't notice her approach me.

. . . _waitasec_.

I grabbed the princess hands in my own, and she jumped in surprise. I didn't care for the looks I was receiving from the men around me, I had just found my answer.

"Say, Princess, how do you feel about being bait?"

*.*.*

After spending a good few minutes on arguing about what I just said, and then _another _few minutes arguing _on the plan itself _we finally came to an agreement. Eirika did not mind her part in the plan, and if all things went as it should, then it would be our complete victory. Still, it was hard to pat myself on the back for my brilliant strategy with Seth and Franz sending death glares at me every few moments. They _really _did not like my plan.

Eirika on the other hand, was fine with it, but still looked nervous. I know I would be, if I was in the position she was in (never mind that it was me that put her in that position in the first place . . .) I walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay, princess? It's not too late to back out you know?"

She gave me a withering smile. "Do I have to repeat my earlier speech, Sir Karl."

"Ahaha, right, sorry I asked. Still, it's pretty dangerous. Your putting a lot of trust in the fact that my plan can actually work, you know?" I said.

"Both Seth and Gilliam said that the plan was sound, even if they didn't like it. If I can't trust you, then I can trust in them, can't I?"

"Ha! Yeah, that's right. You saying you don't trust me though?"

She shook her head in amusement and looked up at me with a smile. "Perhaps, perhaps not. You're still a complete stranger, and some of your habits are perplexing to me, but I look at you and I see a person who keeps his word strongly, and you gave me your word that you would help me in anyway you could, correct?"

Hah, cornered by my own words! Well, it's not like she was wrong.

"You've got a gift for judging people, you know that?"

"No, not judging," she said with another shake of her head, "but empathizing. I'd like to think I'm more of a 'feeling's' person than an analytically one, what do you think?"

I nodded and she flashed me another smile. Man, she smiles a lot more than I'd thought. Not that it was a bad thing though.

"Preparations are finished, your highness!" called Gilliam. "We're ready to move when you are!"

She gave me a nod and drew her rapier, lifting it skyward.

"Then let us move!"


	5. Silent Scaling

**AN: **_Jeez, really late update, and I'm still stuck on the castle. On a side note, I replayed the whole game and came up to the point where we fight Valter. Fuck Valter. Had to hard reset every time :P_

*.*.*

I secured the hold of my shirt on my ax and dagger, making sure they wouldn't fall-off once the scaling phase of the plan begun. I looked over to Gilliam. While it was my plan, he would be leading the operation. He nodded and gave the signal.

At once, ten Frellian soldier along with Franz and the Princess broke off from the main force, heading straight towards the castle. The rest of us began marching straight for the hill near that would send us straight to Frellia. I made a sign of the cross and muttered a quick prayer, hoping the plan went off without hitch. Gilliam looked at me curiously. I could tell he wanted to ask, but preferred to stay silent, so I might as well ask for him.

"You wondering what I was doing?" He nodded. Hm, it seemed he could tell that he looked curious. "It's the way we pray, back where I come from."

Now that I think about it, how does religion work here in Magvel anyway? I'd have to talk about that with Moulder and Natasha, once they'd joined.

"I see." I didn't get much from him after that, though it looked like he was satisfied with just that.

Speaking of satisfaction . . .

"You can stop glaring at me Seth," I said, slightly annoyed. Seriously, I was afraid for myself for the first few minutes when he started doing this, but after a few minutes I realized he wouldn't do anything to me, and I eventually got annoyed. Of course, in the back of my head I was feeling real guilty. I mean, I just separated him from his . . . 'princess', something which I'm sure he was never ever planning to do, and even more, I got said princess to _literally_ order him to do it. Irregardless of this, though, I could _not _concentrate at all with the man staring down my back.

"I am not glaring," he responded smoothly. Looking at him, one might be tempted to call me a liar; his face was the perfect mask of politeness. I knew a glare when I felt one though.

"Suuure you aren't," I said skeptically. "Look, all we need to do is finish this quickly, and we can rendezvous with the princess in no time!"

"I know that, you need not tell me."

I sighed and decided to leave it at that. I was sure he would perform excellently anyway, so I guess I could ignore his attitude. Besides, the more important question was how _I _would perform. Compared to Seth, Gilliam and his men, and even Franz, I wasn't that useful, so I had to put my best foot forward if I wanted to stay around them longer.

After half an hour of walking, we finally got close to the fort near the Frellian natural border. It was perched near a cliff that gave a very nice view of the Castle Mulan. Gilliam explained that it was meant to be used as a housing area for soldiers on patrol here. We would gather supplies at the fort and move closer to the edge of the cliff, where we would stage our part of the plan.

I looked over to the twenty-or-so Frellian men preparing ropes and hooks, while Gilliam stripped down his armor. I raised a brow. "Are you going to be fine without your armor?" I asked.

"It would impede my ability to climb the rope once they are set, so I must take them off," he explained, "but do not worry, there are some lighter armors here in store, besides, I do not think I will require heavy armor once inside the castle grounds."

I nodded. "Speaking of store, are there any swords to spare around here? I'm afraid I have no idea how to use an ax in battle," I admitted. Seriously, swords and spears? Those were fine. One I've trained with all my life and the other I've been fascinated with since I was a boy. Axes though? I've never had a use or interest in them. I was only holding the one I was now because I had no other replacement.

Much to my disappointment, Gilliam shook his head. "We were unable to find any loot-able blades from the last part that attacked us, and as for this fort, I'm afraid that most of the weapons were sacked."

"Then how'd you get your hands on the armor?"

"It would seem that the forces of Grado stationed here are both mercenaries and undisciplined." Joining in on the conversation was Seth, who had his sword and shield strapped and ready, and his helmet was tucked under his arm. Unlike Gilliam, he kept the armor he was wearing, which probably meant it wasn't as heavy as it looked. "Mercenaries generally do not wear metal plated armor, as they prefer to be mobile in case they need to run from a battle, so they probably avoided taking the armor. As for the standing army of Grado stationed here, it seems that most of them are draftees and are either incapable of or do not know how to properly fight in metal armors."

It was a bit of a lengthy explanation, but I got it. Well this sucked. I still only had an ax and dagger to fight with. They weren't even weapons that comboed really well!

I shook my head and sighed. "Okay I guess. Anyway, is everything ready?"

"Yes," said Gilliam. "All that is needed now is the message from Franz."

*.*.*

Eirika and her troupe approached the Castle walls steadily. They were in open field and there was nowhere to hide, so they were highly visible. On the flip-side, so was the Grado army stationed around the castle. On second thought, that wasn't really a good thing - it just gave them an early idea of how badly outnumbered they were.

_"Stick to the plan_,_" _Eirika told herself. Easier said than done though.

She gulped, reached down for her sword, and drawing it, shouted the lines Sir Karl had told her to say as loud as she could: "Hark! Expose yourselves, you sons of millers, and those that deign to ally themselves with the bastard sons of Grado!"

Let it be known that never in her life had her mouth felt so _dirty_ . . .

Both the men of Frellia and those of Grado turned upon her, surprised and shocked, both at her presence and the words that had just escaped her lips. Eirika would have flushed if it weren't for the fact that her life was probably in more danger than it was before she uttered those words.

Getting over their initial shock, the men stationed near Castle Mulan cried out and rushed towards them. For a force guarding the castle, they were relatively few, though they still outnumbered them. It was exactly as Seth thought. Her companions held their ground and engaged the men of Grado in combat. Being outnumbered three-to-one, it was a daunting task, but they kept their formation tight and constantly moved back. Eirika herself was protected, being in the very back, though occasionally a Footman would get too close to her, before being cut down by a frantic Franz. Eirika wished he'd stop doing that and watch his back. She was more than capable of protecting herself!

After approximately five minutes of fighting, Eirika nodded to Franz. He nodded back.

"Everyone, retreat!" he shouted. In response, the Frellians immediately broke off from their engagements and retreated back. The opposing brigade chased them, and Eirika smiled. It was going according to plan.

Franz rode beside her and offered her a hand, she took it took the spot on his horse behind him. They moved as fast as they could towards the fortress that Karl had designated. It was placed near the mountains and stood between the entrances to Frellia and Renais. They crossed through the gate as fast as they could and used arrows to keep away any enemy men.

Once the last man had entered, they quickly shut the gates, leaving their opponents outside.

"How many of them are there?" asked Eirika, dismounting the horse.

A man waiting on top of the ramparts shouted: "Around fifty-six men have followed us back here, your highness! No arrow men spotted, and most of them seem like mercenaries!"

Eirikia turned to Franz, who would be in charge of helping her with military advice while Seth was gone. "So how does that fair for us, Sir Franz?"

The young man shifted nervously. Okay, that nervousness around her would need to be addressed sometime, but right now, they had a campaign to win. "Well, Sir Franz?" she demanded, but her voice did not lose any of its patience.

""U-uh! Yes, your highness!" Franz straightened out and looked more like the knight-in-training he was supposed to be, rather than the nervy wreck he became when he was around Eirika. "The forces of Grado outnumber us by a fairly large margin; however we have control of a fort. A ten man force such as ours can easily hold-off against fifty men. Also they lack archers needed to bring down our own, and they similarly lack any fire-based weapons or mages that can burn down the fort. The best they can do is starve us out, and by then, we should have finished."

"Which will give us the time we need to take the castle?"

"Almost certainly."

Eirika approved of his observation, but had another question. "So what is it that we do next?"

Franz grimaced. "You milady? Not much. You will be holding the fort here. As a target, Sir Karl was correct: You are irresistible. His observation that the commander in charge was a greedy and ambitious man has also proven true, if the number of men surrounding the fort to go by. He will stop at nothing to secure you." And with that, Franz mounted his horse once more. A nearby Frellian took this as a signal and handed him a spear. "As for me, it appears I have been entrusted with the task of delivering the message that the plan can now move on to its next phase."

The princess eyes went wide and her head swiveled towards the gates. "But there are so many . . . ?"

"But they do not have a horse like I do," said Franz, smiling although he was sweating a bit. "Don't worry, princess. I will be fine. I worry more about you. This will be your first time officially in command of a group of soldiers without aide, correct?"

Eirika nodded, but her face was determined. "Yes, but I will be fine. You, Sir Karl, Sir Seth, even Sir Gilliam, you've all but told me about the difficulties of breaching a fortress. I'm not even sure that I will be doing any _commanding _at all."

She gave Franz an awkward smile that he returned. Franz nodded, and turned to the men at the gate with a nod.

"Lift the gate!"

Inhaling deeply, Franz charged straight out, spear raised and shouting. The surprise of seeing a single man charge out like that gave the other side a pause. It was enough of an opening for the young squire, who quickly steered his horse to the side. The men of Grado barely had time to react before the young man was already out of their range. Some men decided to give chase, but quickly stopped after realizing the futility in such an action.

Eirika bit her lip and gripped the hand close to her chest.

"God speed, Franz."

*.*.*

A minor hiccup in the plan just showed up.

A small detachment of Grado stragglers apparently somehow caught site of our men stationed here. Luckily however, it seemed that rather than go back and report it, they decided to investigate it right away and engaged us in battle, which is where we are now.

I myself was mostly unoccupied, with most of the fighting being done by Seth, Gilliam and a handful of men. I stuck myself with the job of looking out for any dispatches that could report our presence here, and throwing men at any potential escape routes to prevent them from escaping. No man was getting out of here alive.

A Fighter from Grado (god, how many of these guys do they have?) made it past the defensive wall that was made of Gilliams men and rushed towards me. He seemed to think I was the commander here, based on how far back I was standing from the rest and my constant barking of orders, and It was the only justification of why he would risk exposing his back to Gilliam and the others to get to me.

I took a deep breath and met his overhead axe swing by knocking it aside clumsily with my own. Normally, this would be disadvantageous for me since I was out of balance and he wasn't, meaning he would recover for his next attack quicker, but I had a dagger with me.

Despite my unbalanced state, I managed to bury the dagger into his throat, causing him to choke on his own blood and gurgle on the liquid. I kicked him and sent him to the ground, unwilling to take the chance that he could still swing that ax for a final moment of revenge.

I looked around and it seemed that everyone had just about finished off the opposing force. Huh, that was sort of anticlimactic. Anyway . . . I spot a rider in the distance. At first I thought it was another Grado soldier, until I saw the green tint of the armor and the locks of golden hair of the rider.

Huh, is that Franz? It is! Well that's good.

"Listen up everyone! Franz has just shown up, which means its go time!" I announced. "Get ready your gear people!"

The battalion responded fluidly, with Seth and Gilliam at the helm. They formed a straight line on the cliffs just above the Castle, and the men behind them handed them hooked spears with ropes tied to the ends, which were cut specifically so they could hold them without slipping.

"Throw!"

On Gilliams command, they simultaneously threw the spears into the air, landing behind or on the embrasures. Some of them missed, of course, but they just threw them again until it stuck. After testing their stability, we began our climb into the Castle.

Idly I wondered how my older brother would feel looking down from this height. I myself rather enjoyed high places, but his legs turned to jelly whenever we used the escalators in the mall. Scaling down from a cliff like this would've been impossible for him.

Anyway, back to the rope and the climbing.

So far it was going well. There were no guards or sentries on the walls, probably because most of them were preoccupied with Eirika at Stereotypical Fort A, or guarding the front gate. I'm sure that none of them expected us to scale the castle with so few forces.

_Aaaand, landing. Huh, that that was easier than I thought._

I looked down from the parapet and into the courtyard below. Again, there were no guards. Gilliam approached me, ten men by his side.

"We will go from here, I wish you luck," he said, taking his men with him.

I nodded and turned to Seth, who had the other ten men. We would go look straight for the commander and pick of the men inside the fort while we were at it. Gilliam and the others would look for Princess Tana.

Seth took the lead, and with that, the retaking of the castle was underway.


End file.
